Between Our Hearts
by L. A. Moonfyre
Summary: I plan to work on rewriting this particular story to fix a lot of gaps. When I first wrote this, it was a personal challenge to write something within a scheduled time frame, which I accomplished. Expect an overhaul of this story sometime soon!


Between Our Hearts, by L. A. Moonfyre  
>A K-On! Fan-fiction based on the fan made manga <span>It's A Love Triangle, Ricchan!<span>  
>Started on February 4, 2012<br>Finished on February 14, 2012

(Author's Note: I wrote this as a practice project and a personal challenge for Valentine's Day. The idea came from episode 14 of season 2 as well as a random eight page manga I found on the internet that follows the episode. I can't remember where I found the manga, but watching that episode should suffice for reading this one-shot story.)

_"If you were a guy, I bet you'd be really popular!"_ Mugi's words had been rolling through Ritsu's mind constantly for the past day, her caramel colored eyes thoughtfully watching the blonde as Mugi was about to sit down across from her.

"Say, Mugi…"

"Hm?"

"If I was a guy, would you fall for me?"

"…"

The silence that followed Ritsu's question was absolute, an odd and heavy tension quickly filling the club room. Mio's hand clenched into a fist in an effort to remain quiet, her back still turned to Mugi and Ritsu. Nearby, Yui and Azusa shared a curious glance with each other, wondering about the origins of such a bizarre question.

"What do you think?" came Mugi's vague reply.

"Don't you think a response like that is a little unfair?" Ritsu retorted, her voice coming out softer.

"Perhaps…" the blonde said as she brushed her fingertips against the band-aid still stuck to her forehead.

Mio's heart was pounding painfully in her chest, her mind racing with some scary thoughts and possibilities. She couldn't bear to turn around, afraid of seeing Ritsu's expression or worse, betraying her own emotions to the drummer. Her body trembled ever so slightly, her world spinning while she waited for the conversation to continue.

"…Though I am sure you already know the answer to that, Ricchan," Mugi whispered, her blue eyes looking away from those caramel ones she had been so focused on.

The drummer leaned a bit closer, interlacing her fingers and hiding her mouth behind her hands. Her eyes glanced at Mio's back for a moment before watching Mugi again, and Ritsu said, "Yeah, I do already know…" Her words drew a blush from the blonde, those blue eyes hesitantly connecting with Ritsu's gaze and clearly declaring the stirring emotions within Mugi.

Ritsu took careful note of Mugi's behavior, and found herself secretly biting her lower lip behind her hands while she studied Mugi's stark blue eyes. When she felt herself start to blush, the drummer quickly dropped her gaze just as Mio whirled around, but it was too late. Mio had seen the emotional change within Ritsu's familiar eyes.

The bass player lost her breath and her heart was struck with a sharp pain. Mio's feet instinctively carried her towards the door, the dark haired girl utterly silent while Ritsu jumped up to her feet in a stuttering frenzy, "M-Mio, wait…!" Ritsu had scarcely managed to get to her feet by the time that Mio was gone through the door, leaving the room without a word.

In the wake of Mio's absence, Ritsu sighed and covered her face with her hands. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, then quietly reclaimed her seat. Azusa watched the drummer sit, then she was out the door just as fast, to catch up to Mio. The small guitarist had seen Mio's expression when the bassist had opened the door to leave, a tear just starting to roll down her cheek. For a moment after, Yui was torn between following Azusa or staying behind because Ritsu had let out a frustrated swear, but when Mugi nodded at her to go, the brunette guitarist carefully placed her Gibson down against a wall and followed Azusa out of the room.

This left Mugi and Ritsu alone in the club room. Mugi sadly looked at Ritsu while apologizing, "Ricchan, I'm sorry…"

The short haired girl dropped her hands, a sad smile on her face as she replied, "Mugi, it's okay… This isn't your fault. It's been a long time coming, to be honest…" It was obvious by Mugi's expression that she was curious about Ritsu's meaning, so Ritsu sighed while looking down at her hands. "It's probably obvious that I… I like Mio… I have come to realize that, in the past few years, my feelings for her have grown beyond being her best friend…"

Ritsu's voice dropped into silence, the short haired girl roughly rubbing her eyes in a vain attempt to hide her tears, but Mugi sat beside Ritsu and filled in the rest of what she knew Ritsu would say, "… and when Mio found out, she wasn't sure how to react, so out of instinct Mio shut you out and pushed you away from her…"

Ritsu met Mugi's eyes, that sad smile on Ritsu's face painfully accentuated by her tears, "Yes, that's exactly how Mio responded, and ever since then she has been more distant from me than ever before…"

Mugi drew away from Ritsu, more apologetic than before, "Ricchan… I'm sorry… I should have thought about that more…" The blonde reached up to pull that band-aid off of her forehead, but to her surprise Ritsu gently stopped her by grasping her hand. When Mugi again met the drummer's eyes, she blushed at the expression she found there.

"Mugi… don't worry about it anymore…" Ritsu whispered, then she closed the small distance that still existed between them. Mugi blushed hotter in surprise and lost her breath for a moment, then she felt as if she melted into Ritsu's tender kiss.

_Our first kiss together…_

When Mugi sighed against her lips, Ritsu's heart started to race. For a moment the drummer wasn't sure if she was becoming excited or scared, but when the hand she still held gently and warmly entwined with her own, Ritsu lost all of her fears. She had been happily accepted, not painfully pushed away! It felt… wonderful to her. Wonderful, and no longer confusing.

Once the two finally pulled away from their first sweet tasting kiss, Ritsu lovingly murmured the blonde girl's name, "Mugi…" The blonde smiled in reply, squeezing the hand she still held and seeing Ritsu visibly relax from that gesture.

"Mio-senpai! Wait…" Azusa rushed down the stairway behind the bass player and almost ran into her at the very bottom. Mio sat on the lowest step, her Fender bass still clutched in her hands and her tears falling without restraint. For a moment Azusa could only watch the older girl cry and shake, then she gently embraced Mio and held her.

Quietly Yui caught up to the two, just as Mio started to speak, "Oh, this is all my fault! I-I should have… should have acted differently… I didn't treat her right…" The long haired girl covered her face with her hands, trying to stem some of her sounds with little result. "I hurt her… Badly…" The pain of this continued to hammer at Mio's heart, her mind recalling the exact moment when it had gone wrong, the moment when Mio had let her fears guide her actions instead of letting her heart lead her.

Both Azusa and Yui remained quiet, giving Mio a chance to let her emotions out, the small guitarist holding Mio all the while. It was not the first time that Mio had felt such a deep regret for her behavior towards Ritsu, but the dark haired girl honestly didn't know how else to react to the drummer. Ritsu always had a knack for being able to throw Mio completely off-guard, whether intentional or not. It was more than Mio could handle most of the time…

* * *

><p><em>It was just a typical weekend for the two best friends. Mio and Ritsu had been spending the day together, and they had returned to Ritsu's place after seeing a movie. The short haired girl flung herself onto her bed, again breaking out into a fit of giggles when she looked at Mio. "I still can't believe how embarrassed you are, Mio! It's as if you've never seen two people kissing before in your life!" <em>

_Ritsu was rewarded with a floor cushion to the face, Mio blushing and haughtily retorting, "Of course I have, stupid Ritsu! Th-that's not the issue!"_

_Grinning, Ritsu pulled the cushion away and happily replied, "The issue is that they're both girls, right? Gee, I can't help but wonder why that makes you so embarrassed!"_

_Another floor cushion met its mark and landed on her face. "Ritsu! That's not funny!"_

"_Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Mio…" the drummer said as she again uncovered her face, "…but don't think that I will forget about it!" She grinned widely at Mio, the dark haired girl obviously still flustered about it all. Mio sat on the floor and leaned against Ritsu's bed, trying to avoid meeting Ritsu's gaze while she was still blushing._

_The drummer sat up, quietly studying Mio to read her emotions. The bass player stayed quiet, looking down at her hands with the blush still evident on her face. Ritsu slid off of her bed to sit beside Mio, her tone serious as she asked, "So… does it bother you a lot? That kind of thing…"_

_Mio was silent for several moments before she replied, "Well, yes and no. It feels almost… natural, but at the same time wrong. So many people look down on that sort of thing." She started to fidget with the hem of her shirt, not really sure what else to say. Her gaze met Ritsu's own, and Mio asked, "What do you think about it?"_

_The short haired girl smiled and gave a dismissive shrug. "Right or wrong, doesn't matter to me. It's all about how it feels in here," Ritsu put her hand against her chest, over her heart. "That should be the only thing that's important."_

_At this, Mio smiled and replied, "I think that's admirable of you, Ritsu. Not everyone can follow their heart so freely."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because sometimes it's too scary to be honest about the feelings in your heart… to let others see them, to know they exist…" Mio's voice fell into silence, the long haired girl no longer able to look Ritsu in the eyes._

_Lightly Ritsu bit her lower lip in thought, then she suddenly leaned close to Mio and kissed her. Before Mio realized what she was doing, she had instinctively recoiled away from Ritsu and smacked her hard across the face. Instant regret sank into Mio's heart like a knife, and the expression of hurt on Ritsu's face was something that Mio would never be able to forget. _

"_R-Ritsu…" Mio started, but her words died on the way out. What could she say? She didn't mean it, Mio had just reacted without thinking! Truthfully, Mio knew that she had the same feelings for Ritsu, but the dark haired girl still refused to accept them as readily as Ritsu had. She wanted so desperately to tell this to Ritsu, but even now the words wouldn't come. Even if she could, the drummer didn't give her the chance to talk any further._

_With tears streaming from her eyes and her hand covering the reddening mark from Mio's blow, Ritsu stood and ran out of the room. Left behind and alone in Ritsu's room, Mio buried her face into her hands and started to cry. How could she ever fix what she had done to Ritsu?_

* * *

><p>Even now, weeks later, Mio still didn't know what to do, and after seeing the way Ritsu looked at Mugi, it seemed that it was too late to fix it. "…I never thought that M-Mugi-chan had those kinds of feelings towards Ritsu," the dark haired girl murmured to herself.<p>

Azusa hugged her tighter, but honestly she was surprised by that as much as Mio. She had always suspected that Mugi liked girls more than she admitted, but Azusa would have never guessed that the blonde was harboring those feelings for Ritsu. Mio slowly pulled away from Azusa, her wet eyes downcast and the weight on her shoulders very heavy. "…Mio-chan…" Yui started, but when Mio glanced in her direction the brunette fell silent.

"I really did something terrible…" the bass player whispered, her words laced with regret.

"What happened, Mio-senpai?" Azusa asked, sitting down beside the older girl and gently taking her hand.

The bass player sighed, but then she pulled her hand away from Azusa and got to her feet. "…Let's just say that I am getting what I deserve now…"

Azusa stood up in a huff and replied, "Mio-senpai! No one deserves to be in pain! I think you should at least tell us what happened, because holding it inside will only make you feel worse…"

"I know, but… I just can't…" She turned her back to the two guitarists, trying to hold in her sobs but without success. Azusa met Yui's gaze, the two agreeing without words and both girls drawing Mio into a hug.

Cradled between the two comforting girls, Mio at last broke down completely, holding none of her sorrow back.

Despite Mugi's affectionate touch, the drummer still felt tears falling from her eyes. She maintained Mugi's gaze, the two silently taking in the presence of each other. The blonde gave Ritsu a small smile, which was returned with a grin from Ritsu, some of the pain at last fading from her expression.

"I can't help but wonder why…" Ritsu said. When the piano player gave her a questioning look, Ritsu let out a chuckle and filled in the rest, "Why you like me, Mugi-chan."

The pure and honest expression in those blue eyes drew a blush to Ritsu's cheeks. Mugi gently took Ritsu's hands in her own and replied, "Sometimes our hearts want what they want. There's no rhyme or reason to them… All I know is how I feel right now, when I look at you."

Ritsu's blush deepened, her caramel brown eyes shyly looking down at the hands holding hers. Mugi tenderly squeezed the drummer's rough hands, then lightly traced her fingertips across Ritsu's palms, taking in the numerous calluses that Ritsu had acquired from her drum sticks. "Your hands have been through a lot," Mugi said tenderly.

The drummer replied without looking up, "You have a very soft touch, Mugi."

The blonde felt herself blush. The moment that Ritsu did look into her eyes, Mugi leaned close and kissed her. It took Ritsu's breath away, the short haired girl breaking the kiss only long enough to gasp for air. As soon as she did, Ritsu moved in to taste Mugi's lips again, the long haired girl happy to continue. Mugi parted her soft lips, her breath tickling Ritsu's mouth. The caramel haired girl opened her mouth instinctively, Mugi's sweet kiss enticing Ritsu's tongue out a bit.

Gently, Mugi entwined her slender fingers into caramel colored hair to cradle the back of Ritsu's head while she lightly sucked on the drummer's tongue. Ritsu let out a heated moan at this. The sensation was so foreign to her, but she loved it and knew she wanted more. Her hands slid lower to the blonde's curvy hips, her motion drawing a shiver of excitement down Mugi's spine. She nipped Ritsu's tongue, the drummer letting out a soft gasp and her fingers clutching Mugi harder.

The next time they parted, Ritsu was gasping faintly for air. It was easy for Mugi to tell that Ritsu's body was growing more excited, but it was moving too fast and too soon after Ritsu's rough encounter with Mio. The blonde knew that if she let it continue too far, Ritsu would end up regretting it. A small smile grew on Mugi's face, her fingers gently stroking across one of Ritsu's hotly blushing cheeks. The short haired girl let out a sigh, her caramel brown eyes closing as she took in Mugi's tender touch, and the two leaned close together for another breathless kiss.

Just outside the clubroom, Mio covered her mouth with a hand, turning away from the door's window and sinking to her knees. Beside her, Azusa sank to the floor as well, her own heart reaching out to Mio's in sympathy.

The bass player had finally made up her mind to try to apologize to Ritsu and get things between them on the right track again, but after Mio saw the way that Ritsu and Mugi acted towards each other, and the way they had just kissed…

Mio rocketed to her feet, her Fender bass falling from her grip and crashing to the floor. She stepped over it and quickly descended the stairs just as Mugi opened the door. The blonde saw Mio as she went, Mugi's blue eyes frantically looking at Azusa for answers. Yui picked up Mio's discarded bass and sadly met Azusa's russet eyes, then the small guitarist sighed and looked up at Mugi.

"Well, Mio-senpai told us what happened with her and Ricchan…" Azusa glanced at Ritsu when the drummer appeared by Mugi's side, then averted her eyes. Ritsu barely paused by Mugi's side before she took off to follow Mio. She couldn't let the girl leave in such pain. Mugi bit her tongue, wondering what exactly had happened to fill the dark haired bassist with so much regret.

"Mio!" Ritsu called as she raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time to try to reach the long haired girl. By the time that Ritsu hit the ground floor, she caught the sight of Mio as the taller girl made her escape outside. "_Mio!_" the drummer called out again, moving fast to follow Mio out of the school's front doors. From there, Ritsu didn't have to go much farther to reach the bass player.

Mio stood a few yards away with her back turned defiantly to Ritsu, but the drummer could see Mio's shoulders quivering. Ritsu sighed and brushed her fingers through her caramel brown hair, now suddenly aware of the fact that she had no idea what she wanted to say to Mio. Before she could think of something, Mio spoke first.

"I'm sorry…" It came out as a whisper that Ritsu couldn't hear, but the dark haired girl turned around and repeated herself. "I'm sorry, Ritsu… The way I have been acting, the way I treated you… I'm sorry, Ritsu."

The drummer ignored the building sting of her tears, trying to keep Mio's gaze as she replied, "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have forced myself on you like that, so you had every right to… hit me. It's my fault for thinking that… that your feelings were the same as mine-"

"But they _are_ the same!"

Ritsu looked directly at Mio in stunned silence, a part of the drummer's heart reeling in pain. She had wanted to hear that so desperately before, but now the truth of it only hurt her. Mio could see by Ritsu's reaction that she had said it too late, and that pain in her heart ripped through much sharper than before.

"M-Mio, look… I wish I could say that I'm happy about that, but I would be lying…" When Mio started to turn away, Ritsu reached out and grabbed her wrist, holding her firmly in place. "Mio, please! It's not your fault, it's mine! I-I didn't know how to handle the situation, so of course I rushed right into it and pretty much ruined it from the beginning… But, Mio…" Ritsu waited until those expressive and familiar eyes met hers, then she smiled and said, "No matter what happens, you will always be in my heart, right where you belong. That will never change."

Mio looked away, suppressing the urge to rip free of Ritsu's grip and run. Instead, Mio quietly replied, "I want to believe you… but I don't deserve that much, not after what I did to you. I'm responsible for how things turned out, too, but I only hope to fix it as much as I possibly can. So…" She pulled free from Ritsu's hold and whispered with pain heavily weighing her words, "… Go. Go back to her, Ritsu, because I know she will treat you well. The way you ought to be treated. Try not to worry about me, because I'll be okay…"

The short haired girl shook her head no and opened her mouth to dispute, but Mio's fingers lightly covered her lips to silence her words. "Please. Right now we have nothing to talk about, so go. I will see you in class tomorrow." Mio let her hand fall back down to her side, finally able to turn away from Ritsu without the drummer stopping her.

Ritsu watched her walk away and no longer cared about the tears that fell from her caramel brown eyes. After a moment, she turned around and went back into the school in complete silence, her heart still staggering in pain just as much as Mio's heart.

~End~


End file.
